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Italian Dressing Recipe

This Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing is a quick and easy dressing recipe! Made with olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs, garlic and a little fresh chilli, this Italian Dressing recipe is one that is loved by all. This recipe is dairy and gluten-free.

Homemade salad dressings are 1000X better than store-bought dressings. In addition they’re packed with goodness and are made with fresh ingredients. Not to mention they have more depth of flavour than any store-bought dressing in a bottle.

Fresh Ingredients in an Italian Dressing Recipe makes all the difference

When I was a child, we very rarely had processed foods at home. I try to follow the same principles my family lived by.

I’ve been very lucky growing up in Australia with a large Italian family. My family was working-class but we always ate well. We had ample fresh vegetables from my father’s and grandfather’s garden.

We had tomatoes, beans, lettuce, onions, celery and an array of different herbs. There is nothing like fresh basil, mint or parsley straight from the garden.

We were also fortunate enough to have lemon trees and had an abundance of other fruits like figs, mulberries and strawberries at home. I still appreciate food that is fresh and home grown.

Dad even made his own wine and wine vinegars. Mum often made pasta from scratch and we made our own tomato pasta sauce every year.

My Italian mother is an amazing baker, who could rival pastry chefs. She has taught me so much about cooking and particularly baking.

An all round favourite dressing

There are so many different salad dressings to try. In coming blogs, I’ll share my recipes for more of my favourite dressings. They include Ranch Dressing, Maple Syrup dressing and my delicious Balsamic Vinaigrette.

The speed in which a tasty dressing can be made will amaze you. Not to mention the next level flavour it brings to any dish. You will be impressed with just how good homemade dressing can be.

Do you actually know what is in most store-bought dressings? Have a read of the label of ingredients list of any kind of salad dressing bottle next time you’re in the supermarket!

Do you recognise all of the ingredients on a store bought Italian dressing?

You’re likely to find a list of preservatives, sugars, possibly even artificial colours and sweeteners! What are these ingredients doing to your salad? More importantly, what are they doing to yours and your family’s health?

It can be quick and easy to create your own healthy salad dressing. You just need a few healthy and fresh ingredients. You will, most likely, have most of these ingredients at home already. This low carb salad dressing will definitely be a hit with the whole family.

Why not jump on the make-your-own Italian dressing band wagon? It’s less expensive than the store bought variety and is as fresh as fresh can be.

When making a dressing, I love an olive oil salad dressing best. Extra Virgin Olive oil has a clean fresh taste. It is uncomplicated and made from just one ingredient: olives!

I’m going to show you how to make a healthy homemade dressing that is packed with flavour and zest. This homemade salad dressing recipe will mean you will never again buy another bottled dressing from the store.

My Healthy Homemade Italian dressing is so much more than just a salad dressing. It is so versatile. In my opinion, this is one of the healthiest salad dressings. It’s not packed with sugar or preservatives like some of the dressing sitting on shelves for months.

I’ve used this on baked potatoes to give them a very different zest to sour cream. You can also use this dressing on baby carrots, on zucchinis and green string beans to give them a different flair. You can find more ideas in the list below.

How to use Italian Dressing

Italian salad dressings are a great way to add some big flavours to a large bowl of mixed green salad.

But, this Italian Dressing is not limited to salads and offers so much depth to so many dishes.

Try these delightful uses for your Homemade Italian Dressing:

Dressing for potato and egg salad

Coating this dressing over oven-roasted baby carrots

Makes a great dipping sauce for raw veggies

Serving a sizzling steak with a spoonful of this dressing

Use it on a Pasta Salad or a Pasta Chicken salad

Drizzle this dressing over a large baking dish of baked vegetable just before serving

Serve with potato wedges

Dress a Coleslaw

Mix a teaspoon of this dressing into a chicken broth for added flavour

Drizzle over Hasselback potatoes once cooked

Combine with honey mustard for chicken wings

Pan fry with pork chops

Add some of this dressing to plain mayonnaise for a variation of flavour

Use as a marinade for fish, chicken or pork

There are so many other ideas I could share. The list goes on and on and is limited simply by your imagination. It really is such a full bodied dressing with an intensifying flavour that compliments so many other dishes.

The easy thing about this recipe is that you don’t need to be exact with the quantity of fresh herbs. I do recommend that you use fresh herbs for this recipe. Dried herbs will not give it the depth of flavour that fresh herbs do.

Here is my recipe for Homemade Italian Dressing. All things considered, I challenge anyone not to love this delicious and versatile dressing.

Healthy Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe

Classic Italian Dressing recipe with only the freshest of herbs used. Lasts for up to 2 weeks and is a versatile dressing for salads, meat and potoes.